NEARLY half of people in Wales feel their neighbourhood has no strong sense of community, according to official figures released yesterday.

And nearly a quarter feel their neighbourhood has got worse over the past 12 months, the figures unveiled by the Assembly Government revealed.

The finding is part of the first stage of a major piece of research conducted by the Assembly into what modern life is like in Wales.

Further results from the first instalment of the survey of nearly 8,000 households state:

Nearly half of Welsh households now have internet access, more than half of whom have a broadband connection, and 41% of people access the internet somewhere at least once a week;

Around one in 10 people had experienced some form of discrimination, harassment or victimisation in the past five years, with race most likely to be the reason given for it, and

Global warming, climate change, litter and fly-tipping are the environmental issues of most concern to people in Wales.

The annual Living in Wales survey attempts to gauge changes in attitudes and living conditions of people living in the country.

And the results give a fascinating insight into how we see our country in 2006.

The decline in community spirit in Wales is the headline finding from the latest round of results, and is being blamed on the withdrawal of major employers from Wales over recent decades.

The necessity of having to live in one place and work elsewhere is preventing many people from becoming involved with the communities in which they live, it is claimed.

"People used to be much less mobile than they are now," said historian John Davies. "During my childhood in Treorchy, most of the people who lived in the street had been there all their lives.

"They may have only moved there a few generations back, but they gelled into a community quite rapidly, and that was in part because the only employment was coal mining, so everyone was involved in a single industry.

"You don't get that now.

"When you had a single industry community, as you had in rural areas with agriculture and in mining areas, that did give a sense of solidarity, as what happened there affected everyone and was a natural point of discussion.

"That's not quite the same anymore, although you could argue that it was quite a cloying thing, as people were always wondering what the neighbours would be thinking, so in a sense, the loss of that could be seen as liberating.

"Most of the industrial communities would be based on the assumption that the workforce would be within walking distance of the workplace.

"But thousands of people commute to Cardiff every day and many even commute to London.

"Years ago, you could rely on the idea that somebody would be at home all the time, but that's no longer the case

."

Mervyn Burnett, an organiser for the GMB Union, agreed that the loss of major employers based in Welsh communities was threatening neighbourhood spirit. "That's part of the problem," he said. "People like to work and live within a local community and if they have to work even 20 miles away from their community, that will affect their sense of that community.

"I still believe that when people move back into the community, they become part of it, and I don't think that will ever die.

"They want to be part of that and it will survive irrespective of what happens with jobs.

"But it doesn't help when people have to relocate to find work and the opportunity to spend their hard-earned money and become involved in the community diminishes as a result."

Mr Burnett, who is heavily involved with efforts to prevent the closure of the Burberry factory in Treorchy, said he felt the support shown towards the campaign in the area proved that community spirit was not dead yet. "My view is that the community is vibrant and strong, but they benefit when companies like Burberry remain within communities," he said.

"I always see factories of the size of Treorchy as being as communities within communities, and they feed the community at large, by meaning people can work there and then put their hard-earned money back into the businesses in the community. That's why it's important that companies like Burberry remain in communities like Treorchy and keep that tradition going strong."

Living in Wales - a snapshot of the nation

Internet usage

Just under half of households have internet access at home, with over half of those having broadband

Four in 10 people access the internet every week

Equality issues

One in 10 people have experienced harassment, discrimination or victimisation over the past five years, with those admitting it most likely to have suffered on the grounds of race

Environment

The environmental issues of most concern were litter, fly-tipping, climate change and global warming